IRON MAIDEN Wouldn’t Attend ROCK HALL Induction Even If The Band Wasn’t On Tour: ‘I Don’t Do Those Sort Of Things’, Says STEVE HARRIS
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Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris and singer Bruce Dickinson have made clear that the band will not attend their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's Class of 2026, and that they would stay away even if they were not on tour at the time. Speaking to Metal Hammer, both men expressed indifference to the honour, with Harris saying awards are not why the band makes music and Dickinson remarking that he could not "summon the energy to be vitriolic about it." The comments underline the group's long-standing stance that its relationship with fans matters more than industry accolades.
The 2026 ceremony takes place on 14 November at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, airing on ABC and Disney+ the following month, though Iron Maiden will be mid-way through an Australian tour with dates in Melbourne on 13 November and Sydney on 15 November. The band, eligible since 2004, had been nominated only twice before, in 2021 and 2023, when they finished fourth in the fan vote. They join a Performer class that includes Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan, adding to a short list of metal or metal-adjacent acts previously inducted, such as Black Sabbath, Metallica, Judas Priest and Deep Purple.
- Iron Maiden will skip their Rock Hall induction, tour or no tour.
- Harris and Dickinson say awards mean little to the band.
- The 2026 ceremony is on 14 November in Los Angeles.
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Iron Maiden are one of the biggest and longest-running heavy metal bands in the world, formed in London in 1979, known for singer Bruce Dickinson, bassist and founder Steve Harris, and their elaborate stage shows featuring their mascot, Eddie. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is a US institution that inducts musicians it judges to have made a significant impact on popular music, with a ceremony each year honouring a new "class" of artists chosen partly by public vote.
Despite being eligible since 2004 and building a huge global following, Iron Maiden had only been nominated twice before, missing out both times, which made many fans see the band as overlooked by an institution more geared towards mainstream rock and pop acts. Metal bands in general have a mixed history with the Hall Of Fame, with only a handful, including Black Sabbath, Metallica and Judas Priest, inducted to date.
This matters because it touches on a long-running debate about how metal music is regarded within the wider music industry, and about the band's own attitude towards institutional recognition versus its relationship with fans, an issue Harris and Dickinson have now addressed directly in comments to Metal Hammer.
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